Causes of Loose Stool and How to Fix Them

We all get loose stools or diarrhea from time to time. While stool can be watery, liquid, and show classic signs of food poisoning or the stomach flu, other times bowel movements are simply softer than normal without a clear cause. Here’s a look at 14 causes of loose stool (whether it’s a stool that is solid but mildly loose, mushy, shapeless, or full-blown diarrhea).

Illustration by Joshua Seong, Verywell

Food or Drink

Several types of food and drink can result in loose stools.

Fructose

A type of sugar in fruit, fruit juice, honey, and some vegetables, fructose is also found in table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (used to sweetened processed foods and beverages). If large amounts are consumed or if you have a condition such as fructose malabsorption, fructose can cause loose stools or diarrhea, gas, or abdominal pain.

If you consume high-fructose foods such as juice, honey, agave syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, molasses, or palm or coconut sugar, limiting your serving sizes may help.

Sugar Alcohols

Some people find that sugar alcohols, which include xylitol, mannitol, sorbitol, erythritol, and other artificial sweeteners, have a laxative effect. Often used as artificial sweeteners (in sugarless candy and gum, diet beverages, and sugar substitutes), sugar alcohols are also found naturally in food. Sorbitol, for instance, is found in peaches, apples, pears, and prunes.

Sugar alcohols are not well absorbed. As a result, consuming excessive amounts causes the sugar alcohols to pull water from the bloodstream into the intestines, resulting in diarrhea and loose stools.

Consume sugar alcohols in moderation. If you rely on artificial sweeteners to manage diabetes or other health conditions, talk with your healthcare provider about using a variety of sweeteners and consuming them in moderation.

Coffee

Drinking coffee can stimulate the contraction and relaxation of intestinal muscles (called peristalsis), promoting bowel movements.  Coffee’s acidity also causes the body to produce more bile, which can cause looser stools.

Aside from the bowel-stimulating quality, coffee can also result in looser stools because as stool moves through the colon quickly, there is less time for water to be reabsorbed by the body (and stool to firm up).

Try darker roasts, like French roast, which tend to have less caffeine than lighter roasts. Also skip the milk or cream, excess sugar, and sweeteners such as sorbitol, which can also trigger loose stools.

Oily Foods

A greasy meal or a higher fat diet (such as the keto diet) can trigger bowel movements and loose stools in some people. Food in the stomach and small intestine (particularly fatty food) triggers contractions in the colon and the movement of stool. Called the gastrocolic reflex, these contractions in the large intestine may lead to a bowel movement a short time after eating.

Certain conditions like chronic pancreatitis can also result in oily loose stools or diarrhea. Although a fatty meal can trigger loose stools, speak with your healthcare provider if it’s a regular occurrence.

Spicy Food

Hot and spicy foods can irritate the intestinal lining and cause loose stools. It normally happens after a spicy meal and returns to normal shortly afterward. Compounds in spicy food aren’t absorbed by the body and make their way into your intestines.

Although not everyone who eats spicy food has loose stools, if it happens to you, try limiting your intake of spicy food. Eating yogurt, rice, or bread may help offset some of the effects of spicy food on the intestines.

Alcohol

Ethanol in alcohol speeds up the contractions in the colon, which means that waste is moved through the intestines faster and there’s less time for the colon to absorb water, which can lead to watery stool.

If you notice that drinking affects your stools, try seeing whether wine and spirits give you less digestive trouble than beer or malt liquor. Cutting back on your overall intake will also help.

Medication

The use of certain herbal remedies or medications may lead to the passage of loose stools. Some of the medications and supplements include:

• Antacids containing magnesium hydroxide
• Antibiotics
• Chemotherapy
• Magnesium 
• Senna

Research suggests that probiotics may help prevent diarrhea that can occur after taking antibiotics. The American Gastroenterology Association released a 2020 consensus on the use of probiotics after a systematic review of previously published studies. Regardless of age, the majority of gastroenterologists agreed there is benefit in taking a probiotic for the prevention of C. difficile infection. A report published in Nutrition in Clinical Practice in 2016, which involved the analysis of previously published clinical trials testing the effects of probiotics on people with antibiotic-associated diarrhea.

Their analysis revealed that probiotics were associated with a reduced risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhea in adults (but not in those over the age of 65). According to another study, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG is the most effective strain for antibiotic-associated diarrhea.

Chronic Medical Conditions

Loose stools may also be seen in a variety of health conditions.

Lactose Intolerance

A naturally occurring sugar, lactose is found in milk, ice cream, cheese, and other dairy products. Many adults have a low level of lactase, an enzyme that breaks lactose down. Consuming milk or dairy can lead to loose stools and diarrhea in people with lactose intolerance.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

A condition that affects the large intestine, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can cause cramping, abdominal pain, gas, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. Symptoms vary widely from person to person. Some people have loose stools or diarrhea, while others have constipation or alternate between the two.

Celiac Disease

Gluten products like bread, pasta, and baked goods are a problem for people with celiac disease.  A protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, gluten causes an autoimmune reaction in people with celiac disease. One of the symptoms can be diarrhea or loose stools.

The condition can cause low energy, unintended weight loss, and a lack of growth. If the condition is untreated, it may be hard to link gluten-containing foods to symptoms because of damage to the intestinal lining.

Dumping Syndrome

A condition is seen most often seen in people who have had bariatric (weight loss), esophageal, or gastric surgery, dumping syndrome is when the food you eat moves too quickly from your stomach into your small intestine, causing loose stools.

Other Chronic Health Conditions

Loose stools may be seen in these conditions:

These conditions can be diagnosed or managed, so it’s best to work with your healthcare provider if you suspect having them or have been diagnosed.

Stomach Flu

The stomach flu can cause diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, fever, and headache. Also known as viral gastroenteritis, it’s highly contagious.

Viruses (such as noroviruses, rotaviruses, and adenoviruses) target the digestive tract and result in inflammation of the stomach and intestines, diarrhea, vomiting, and cramps.

Symptoms typically appear one to three days after you’ve been infected and can range from mild to severe. Eating foods such as bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast may help. Young people, older adults, and people with weak immune systems are at risk for dehydration and should be watched carefully.

Food Poisoning

Also known as bacterial gastroenteritis, food poisoning is the result of eating food that has been undercooked, stored too long at room temperature, or not reheated properly and is contaminated with bacteria such as salmonella or E.coli. The result is inflammation in your stomach and intestines, and symptoms that can include diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and nausea.

For mild cases, staying hydrated and eating potassium-rich foods may help ease symptoms, although some people require treatment.

When to See Your Healthcare Provider

Many cases of loose stool are the result of something you ate and will quickly return to normal. When it happens, it normally lasts two to three days. Some people get loose stool more often, due to dietary changes or as part of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or other conditions. You should consult your healthcare provider if your symptoms don’t resolve or become a regular occurrence.

Emergency Symptoms

See a medical professional immediately if you have any of the following symptoms:

• Severe abdominal pain
• Blood or pus in the stool
• Black or tar-colored stool
• Chills, vomiting, lightheadedness, dizziness, or fainting
• Confusion
• Dehydration (dry mouth, infrequent or dark urination)
• Fever 102 F or higher or lasting longer than several days
• Rapid heart rate
• Unexplained weight loss

Also, call your healthcare provider if you are an older adult, recently hospitalized, pregnant, or have a compromised immune system (e. g. take steroids, transplant rejection medications, or TNF-alpha inhibitors such as infliximab or etanercept).

Understandably, it’s an uncomfortable topic to talk about, but your healthcare provider understands and is there to help. The conversation may make you uncomfortable but will provide relief for your symptoms.

What Does It Mean If Your Poop Is Green?

A common stool color change, green poop can mean that you’ve been eating green vegetables (which are rich in chlorophyll) or green, blue, or purple food coloring, or it can be caused by any condition that leads to diarrhea or loose stools. Although stool is normally brown, the occasional green stool can fall within the normal range of stool colors.

See your healthcare provider if green stool (or another unusual stool color) is ongoing or if you have other symptoms, like fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, or pain. Here are eight possible causes of green poop (whether it is dark, bright, light green, or floating).

Verywell / Joshua Seong

Green Foods

Green poop can simply result from consuming meals with green vegetables, like spinach, kale, broccoli, Swiss chard, bok choy, beet greens, arugula, and watercress. It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong. Dark green, leafy vegetables are rich in chlorophyll, the pigment that gives plants their color.

Virtually any chlorophyll-rich plant food can cause green-tinged stool if you eat enough of it. That includes vegetables like green beans, celery, sugar peas, green peppers, Brussels sprouts, peas, asparagus, sprouts, zucchini, cucumbers, and romaine lettuce, and fruits like avocados, green apples, honeydew, kiwi, jalapenos, and green grapes.

Nuts like pistachios, seeds like hemp seeds, and herbs like parsley, basil, and cilantro are also rich in chlorophyll. Matcha, a type of powdered green tea, can also make stools a bright green hue.

A small serving may not be enough to turn your stool green, but it may be an issue if you’re having larger servings, such as those found in smoothies, juices, pureed soups, large salads, guacamole, or a combination of different chlorophyll-rich foods.

Some foods contain green (or blue and yellow) food coloring that may turn your poop green. These dyes are sometimes used in canned green peas, green beer, breakfast cereal, candy, jarred pickles, salad dressing, beverages, cake and cookie icing, and desserts. You’ll also see these dyes in food around St. Patrick’s Day and Christmas.

Click Play to Learn More About Green Poop

Blue and Purple Foods

Besides the obvious green foods, deep blue or purple foods can sometimes lead to green poop. Blueberries, grapes, and red wine, for instance, can result in a dark green-blue stool.

Purple (or red and blue) food coloring in drink mixes, grape Kool-Aid and soda, frozen ice pops, cake icing, blue Gatorade, packaged fruit snacks, licorice, and grape-flavored Pedialyte can also cause dark or bright green poop. These food dye colors are often used during holidays such as Easter, Independence Day, and Halloween.

Coffee, Spicy Foods, and Alcohol

As bile makes its way through the small intestine to the large intestine via the bile ducts, it progressively changes color from green to yellow to brown. This is due to the action of bacteria in the large intestine acting on bile salts.

In some cases, consuming lots of coffee, jalapenos, chili pepper, and alcohol can have a laxative effect, causing foods to pass through the intestines faster than normal (called decreased transit time) and before stool change color from green to brown.

Vitamins, Supplements, and Drugs

Taking iron supplements can change the color of your poop to dark green (or black). Other vitamins, supplements, and teas that can lead to green poop include:

• Senna, cascara sagrada, rhubarb, fiber supplements, and other laxatives
• Nutritional supplements that contain chlorophyll, such as greens powder, green tea, wheatgrass, spirulina, barley grass, chlorella, blue-green algae, and chlorophyll
• Yerba mate tea
• Medication that can cause loose stools or diarrhea as a side effect, such as metformin, Lexapro (escitalopram), Nyquil, Zoloft (sertraline), or antibiotics like ciprofloxacin

Special Diets

Whether you’re eating a generally healthy diet or are on a vegetarian or vegan diet, consuming plenty of chlorophyll-rich green vegetables and fruits can make your poop green. Juicing or going on a juice cleanse will also up your intake of chlorophyll and, in turn, increase the likelihood of green-tinged stools.

If you experience green stools during a colon cleanse, it may be due to food rushing through your intestines too quickly to allow bacteria to give your stool its characteristic brown color.

A high-fat diet, like the keto diet, may give your poop a bright green hue. With a high-fat intake, your body produces more bile to digest these fats and excess green-colored bile may find its way into the toilet bowl.

Pregnancy

Green stool can occur during pregnancy. Some women get it in the earliest weeks of their pregnancy, sometimes even before the BFP (“big fat positive”) on the pregnancy test. Other women get it because they take prenatal vitamins (which contain a higher dose of iron than the typical multivitamin) or iron supplements.

Green stool can also happen during the third trimester. Some women get loose green stools during late pregnancy as food moves rapidly through the intestines.

Babies, Toddlers, and Older Kids

An infant’s first bowel movements are typically green-black in color. Known as “meconium,” you usually don’t see it after an infant is three days old.

Dark green (or green black) poop in babies may be caused by iron supplements and iron-enriched foods, such as baby formula. If your baby’s poop appears black or dark, it’s a good idea to check with your healthcare provider or pediatrician.

If a breastfed baby has green poop, it could be something in the mother’s diet, like green vegetables or food made with green or purple food coloring. In some cases, it may be a sensitivity or allergy to something in the mother’s or baby’s diet.

Green poop in breastfed babies (particularly “EBF” or exclusively breastfed babies) could also be a sign that the baby is getting too much low-calorie, low-fat foremilk (the milk that comes first in a feeding) and not enough hindmilk, which is higher in fat.

It could mean that the baby isn’t feeding long enough on each breast or draining the breast effectively or that there is an oversupply of breast milk. A lactation consultant may be able to help identify the issue.

Kids often eat foods that contain food dyes, including green, purple, blue and yellow, or red and blue coloring. They are found in grape Pedialyte and some kids’ breakfast cereals, beverages, candies, birthday cakes, and cookies. Chewing on green or purple crayons can also change the color of stools.

Medical Conditions

Diarrhea decreases bowel transit time, so any condition that causes diarrhea can result in a green stool, including:

• Food poisoning
• Infectious or traveler’s diarrhea, especially Salmonella, E.coli, and Giardia (Bacterial, parasitic, and viral intestinal infections can cause your intestines to flush faster than normal.)
• Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (also known as pseudomembranous colitis)
• Lactose intolerance
• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
• Celiac disease
• Ulcerative colitis
• Crohn’s disease
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Eating disorders that involve laxative abuse
• After surgery, such as a cesarean section (also known as a C-section) 
• Graft versus host disease (a condition that can develop after surgery for a bone marrow transplant)

When to See Your Healthcare Provider

It’s important to talk to your healthcare provider if your green stools are ongoing and/or accompanied by fever, stomach aches or pain, blood in the stool (or black stool), watery or liquid stool, or other symptoms. A rare but serious cause of green stool in kids and adults is poisoning by chemicals such as the pesticide paraquat.

Green stools accompanied by visible mucus may signal irritation or inflammation in the lining of the intestines. If it happens regularly, it could be a sign of a condition that may require treatment (especially if it’s accompanied by diarrhea, constipation, pain in the abdomen, or nausea or vomiting).

Like green poop, floating green stool is often normal and related to what you ate. In some cases (particularly if it’s an ongoing concern), floating stool could mean that your intestines aren’t absorbing fat properly.

A Word From Verywell

Green stools can fall within the normal color range for bowel movements. While ongoing stool discoloration or the presence of other symptoms may signal something that requires medical treatment, in most cases, having the occasional greenish poop is nothing to worry about. If your green poop was caused by something you ate, your stools should return to their normal color within a day or two.

What Causes Hard, Small, and Pellet-Like Stool

If you have small hard poop that passes in pieces shaped like pebbles, balls, or rabbit pellets, you may be wondering whether this type of stool falls within the normal range or whether it’s something you should be concerned about.

Small stool may mean that your diet is low in fiber, or you may have constipation for another reason. In some cases, small stool may be a sign of a medical condition. Here’s a look at some causes of this type of poop.

Illustration by Joshua Seong, Verywell

Not Eating Enough Fiber

The size of your stool is directly related to the amount of fiber and water you consume. Found in plant-based foods including vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, fiber adds bulk to your stool and is fermented by bacteria in your colon, forming a gel that keeps poop from breaking apart in pieces.

If you get enough fiber in your diet, your stool should be soft, easy to pass, and formed. If your diet is low in fiber, your body makes a smaller amount of stool and it may be difficult to pass, hard, dark, or fragmented in tiny pieces.

On average, adults consume 15 grams or less of fiber a day, far less than the recommended amount. According to the Institute of Medicine, the recommended daily intake is 38 grams of fiber for men and 25 grams for women under the age of 50. If you’re over 50, the recommended intake is 30 grams for men and 21 grams for women.

If you’re not sure how much fiber you’re getting, try keeping a food diary for a week. If you eat less than the recommended amount, upping your fiber intake may improve the frequency and consistency of your stool. Here are some fiber-rich foods to try:

• Lentils (15.6 grams per cup)
• Raspberries (8 grams per cup, raw)
• Green peas (7 grams per cup)
• Avocados (7.8 grams per half-cup)
• Chia seeds (5.5 grams per tablespoon)
• Oatmeal (4 grams per cup, cooked)
• Almonds (3. 3 grams in 24)
• Ground flaxseeds (1.9 grams per tablespoon)

Increase your intake of fiber gradually to avoid bloating and gas.

Not Drinking Enough Fluids

Fiber and water work together to make your stool easy to pass. If you aren’t getting enough fluids, water in your intestines is absorbed into your system, making stool small, hard, and difficult to pass.

When it comes to hydrating, many healthcare professionals advise that healthy people use thirst as their guide and look for varied sources of water such as fruits, vegetables, herbal teas, juices, soups, and other beverages.

If you aren’t sure how much water is right for you, ask your healthcare provider. Depending on factors like age, body weight, and medical conditions, some people may need to drink more and some people may need less than the recommended intake.

Medication

Medication that can result in constipation in some people include:

• Antacids
• Antidepressants
• Calcium channel blockers
• Diuretics
• Iron supplements
• Narcotic pain medication
• Parkinson’s disease medication

Lifestyle

Spending hours at your desk hunched over your keyboard or leading a sedentary lifestyle can slow digestion. To combat prolonged sitting and physical inactivity, get up and move around or take a brief walk every hour.

Regular gentle exercise helps to improve the movement of stool through the digestive tract. As a general goal, strive for at least 30 minutes of physical activity most days.

Make time to go to the bathroom when you feel the urge. Ignoring the urge can worsen constipation. You can try getting up a bit earlier to eat breakfast, which can encourage bowel movements. Avoid pushing or straining when you’re on the toilet.

Certain Health Conditions

Although small stool is often the result of a lack of fiber or fluids, in some cases, it may be a sign of an underlying medical problem. Some medical causes of constipation include:

• Hypothyroidism
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Multiple sclerosis
• Parkinson’s disease
• Uterine fibroids
• Cancer

A small number of people with constipation or thin stools have an underlying condition that compresses or narrows the colon or rectum, such as colon polyps, diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease, or colon cancer.

When to See Your Healthcare Provider

Having small stools from time to time is usually nothing to worry about. If you notice that your small stools last longer than one to two weeks, however, or are accompanied by other symptoms, you should consult your healthcare provider.

If you have nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pain and haven’t been able to pass stools, you should seek medical attention immediately.

A Word From Verywell

Passing poop that looks like nuggets, small pieces, rabbit pellets, or balls from time to time is usually normal. If your diet is the culprit, eating more fiber-rich foods and staying hydrated can often help you get back on track, although it may take a few days before you notice an improvement. If you’re considering making any diet or lifestyle changes, speak to your healthcare provider before making any major changes to your routine.

White stool: Should I be concerned?

What would cause a person to have white stool? Should I be concerned?

Answer From Elizabeth Rajan, M. D.

White stool isn’t normal and should be evaluated promptly by a doctor. White or clay-like stool is caused by a lack of bile, which may indicate a serious underlying problem.

Bile is a digestive fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. Stool gets its normal brownish color from bile, which is excreted into the small intestine during the digestive process. If the liver doesn’t produce bile or if bile is obstructed from leaving the liver, stool will be light colored or white.

Often the problem occurs in the tube (duct) that delivers the bile to the small intestine. This tube can be squeezed shut or blocked — for example, by a tumor or a gallstone — which prevents the bile from entering the small intestine. You may also experience abdominal pain, fever, nausea, itching and jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes). Some babies are born with constricted bile ducts, a condition known as biliary atresia.

Liver diseases, such as hepatitis and cirrhosis, also can sometimes cause white stool. Barium, a white substance used for X-rays of the digestive tract and certain medications that contain aluminum hydroxide, for example antacids, can also turn the stool white.

With

Elizabeth Rajan, M.D.

Nov. 05, 2019

Show references

1. Saxena R. Liver diseases of childhood. In: Practical Hepatic Pathology: A Diagnostic Approach. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier; 2018. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed Oct. 17, 2019.
2. Bennett JE, et al., eds. Hepatitis A virus. In: Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett’s Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier; 2020. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed Oct. 17, 2019.
3. Neonatal jaundice. American College of Gastroenterology. https://gi.org/topics/neonatal-jaundice/. Accessed Oct. 17, 2019.
4. X-ray (radiography): Upper GI tract. American College of Radiology. https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=uppergi#experience. Accessed Oct. 17, 2019.
5. Feces color finding. IBM Micromedex. https://www.micromedexsolutions.com. Accessed Oct. 17, 2019.

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The Scoop on Poop – Gastrointestinal Society

From diet to disease, many things affect your poop. If you have any concerns that your stool is abnormal, then visit your physician.

1. What is poop made of?

In a typical bowel movement, about 75% of the stool volume is water. The other 25% is a mixture of things, primarily dead and living bacteria, food waste, as well as undigested parts of foods, typically fibrous foods such as seeds, nuts, corn, and beans, and substances contributed by the intestines and liver, such as mucus and bile (a dark green to yellowish-brown fluid). Many things can affect the balance of stool content, including diet, medications, supplements, and the presence of a GI disease, disorder, or infection.

2. What is a healthy bowel movement?

An ideal stool is medium-brown, long, smooth, and soft, which passes easily from the body with little straining or effort. Healthy individuals typically have bowel movements anywhere between three per day and three per week. More than three per day is often associated with diarrhea, and fewer than three per week typically suggests constipation, although there must be other symptoms present before the stool strictly qualifies as either diarrhea or constipation. Ideal stool requires little effort and no straining for elimination.

3. What does the colour of my poop mean?

Brown: Healthy bowel movements tend to be brown, due to the presences of bile and bilirubin, which is a product resulting from dead red blood cells being broken down in the intestine.

Black: If your stool is black, it is important to see your doctor, as it could be a sign of internal bleeding from higher in the digestive tract, especially if it smells foul and is tarry. However, there are many benign causes of black stool, including ingesting something with bismuth subsalicylate such as Pepto-Bismol® (which can also turn your tongue black), iron supplements, black liquorice, blueberries, or other darkly coloured foods.

Red or Maroon: If you are bleeding in the lower portion of the digestive tract, then this could cause bright red stool. Bleeding could be a result of inflammatory bowel disease, diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, fissures, polyps, or colorectal cancer. However, a red stool might be unrelated to bleeding, since consuming large amounts of foods with red colouring, such as cakes or colourful packaged breakfast cereals, tomato-based sauce and soup, and beets can also colour your stool red.

Orange: If you consume excess beta-carotene from supplements or produce, such as carrots, sweet potato, squash, some leafy greens, and some herbs, then your stool can appear orange.

Yellow/Pale Brown/Grey: Bright yellow diarrhea can signify a condition known as Giardiasis (see sidebar). Stool that is yellow or pale can also result from reduced production of bile salts, since a normal, brown-coloured stool acquires its hue from breaking down bile. Pale stool (yellow or grey) can signify a problem with the liver or gallbladder, so if you have persistently light-coloured stool, then you should see your physician.

Green: Most often, green stool is the result of ingesting large quantities of green foods, such as leafy greens or foods with green colouring added. Iron supplements may also cause the stool to become green. However, green stool could also signify a colonic transit time that is too fast. Bile usually becomes darker as it passes through the large intestine but stays green if it moves through too quickly.

Blue: Eating lots of blue foods (e.g., blueberries) or beverages with blue food colouring (e.g., grape pop) can turn your stool this colour.

4. Is the texture of my bowel movement normal?

The Bristol Stool Chart is the most useful tool developed for assessing the texture and shape of your stool. On a scale of 1-7, you rate your stool on how solid or liquid it is. For instance, small, hard lumps that are difficult to pass would be a 1, and entirely liquid would be a 7. On this scale, 1-2 could signify constipation, 3-5 are healthy stools, and 6-7 point to diarrhea.

5. Why do some stools float and others sink?

Most stool sinks because the contents of feces tend to be denser than water. However, some stool just floats and, generally, this is nothing of concern, as it is usually the result of gas within the fecal matter, or a high fibre intake. Excess fat in the stool (steatorrhea) can also cause feces to float. This is especially common in individuals who have GI conditions that affect fat absorption, such as celiac disease or Crohn’s disease, but can also happen in healthy individuals who consume large quantities of fat, which is likely the cause if the stool is also oily and foul smelling.

6. Why does it hurt when I have a bowel movement?

There are many reasons why defecation might cause pain. Depending on the type and severity of the pain, it could be anything from what you ate to an irritated hemorrhoid. In rare cases, a tumour in the intestine could make bowel movements painful. If you have any concerns about persistent pain, see your physician. Here are some common causes:

• Constipation is the most common cause of pain; if your stools are hard and difficult to pass, this could be the culprit
• Diarrhea can also cause cramping, leading up to elimination
• If you eat too much spicy food, the oils can stay in your stool and cause burning upon defecation, in the same way that they can make your mouth burn when you eat them
• Hemorrhoids, anal fissures (tears in the anus), and abscesses can cause pain and bleeding
• Bowel conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis), and colorectal cancer can also cause pain
• Severe pain while experiencing bowel movements could signify a tumour obstructing the rectum or anus

7.

Why does my poop smell so bad?

The first thing to remember is that what goes in also comes out, so if you had a spicy meal, chances are you’ll smell it strongly when it exits. Meat produces more smell than vegetables and intestinal bacteria produce several sulphur-containing compounds that are the primary smelly culprits along with fatty acids and skatole, a product resulting from the naturally-occurring process of amino acids being broken down in the intestine. The human nose can detect hydrogen sulphide in concentrations as low as one-half part per billion, making it easy for us to smell stool! Malabsorption, particularly of fats (see FAQ 5), can cause a stronger odour, so talk to your doctor if this persists.

Animals and Poop

• The white part of bird stool is actually the bird’s version of urine. Birds have only one hole for defecation and “urination”. The white part is uric acid, which is not very soluble in water, as opposed to the urea that mammals excrete, which is why the “urine” from birds is white.
• Adult African elephants eat 200-250kg of food a day and poop about 50kg daily. Some ingenious individuals in Thailand make paper from elephant dung – an astounding 115 sheets per day from one elephant’s deposits – which is primarily composed of fibre. They claim the paper does not smell and is bacteria-free.
• Both the Adélie penguin and silver-spotted skipper butterfly – in its caterpillar stage – projectile poop; the caterpillar ejects its stool as far away as 1.4 meters!
• A rabbit produces two types of digestion bi-products, leading some folks to believe they eat their poop. However, its fecal pellet is brown, hard, and spherical, with little odour, as it is composed mostly of undigested fibre (rabbits don’t generally eat these). However, rabbits also pass cecotropes, composed of nutrients from the rabbit’s digestion, which the rabbit needs to eat a second time to extract the necessary nutrition. These pellets consist of small, soft, shiny globs, each coated with a layer of rubbery mucus, and pass from the body in an elongate mass. As it contains a large mass of beneficial cecal bacteria, it has a strong odour, which the rabbit appears to enjoy. The mucosal coating protects the bacteria as they re-enter the stomach en route to the intestines.

First published in the

Inside Tract® newsletter issue 182 – 2012

Image: Rasulov | Bigstockphoto.com

Dark Stool – Symptoms, Causes, Treatments

Darkening of the stool may be a normal occurrence related to specific foods or medications; however, it can sometimes be a sign of a more serious condition such as bleeding in the intestinal tract. When related to foods, blueberries, beets, or black licorice are often the cause. Stool passed after eating these foods may be dark brown, bluish, reddish, or black. Iron supplements and medications containing bismuth subsalicylate, a common ingredient in anti-diarrhea medications, can also turn the stool dark or black.

Dark stool not associated with specific foods or medications can be more worrisome and may be an indicator of bleeding somewhere in the digestive system. The color and quality of the stool depends on where the bleeding is occurring and how fast the stool moves through the digestive system. Blood from the esophagus, stomach, and small intestine may have time to be metabolized as it transits, which can result in black stool that may have a tarry consistency (melena).

Bright red blood in the stool frequently comes from the lower portion of the digestive tract, specifically the colon or anus. It has not been metabolized and so it preserves a bright red appearance (hematochezia). At the same time, bleeding from higher up can speed digestive transit times, so bright red blood does not rule out bleeding from the esophagus, stomach, or small intestine. Red striping of the stool is often related to bleeding near the exit of the digestive tract and may be seen with hemorrhoids.

Since dark stool can be related to digestive tract bleeding, if it cannot be explained by a specific food or medication, dark stool should be immediately evaluated in an emergency setting.
Seek immediate medical care (call 911) for bloody stool or stool that is black or tarry in consistency that is accompanied by profuse sweating, changes in level of consciousness, rapid heartbeat (tachycardia), severe abdominal pain, vomiting blood, or chest pain.

If your dark stool is persistent or causes you concern or if you have pain with bowel movements,
seek prompt medical care.

Stool Color and Consistency: What It Says About Your Health

Have you ever wondered about whether or not your stool is normal and healthy? Looking at the color and consistency of stool can give you a lot of clues to the health of your gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It can also give you clues that you may need to seek medical attention.

Stool Colors

There are several colors that stool can be, with multiple being caused by food and supplements.  Brown is the normal, healthy color stool should be. The brown color is mainly due to bilirubin, which is in the bile your gallbladder secretes. As bilirubin is digested, it becomes brown. There are various shades of brown stool may be, from light yellow-brown to dark brown.

But if your stool is not brown, you may have a condition that needs to be addressed by a doctor.

• Green: Green stool can indicate that stool is moving too quickly through the GI tract, which does not allow your body enough time to fully digest bilirubin to create the normal brown color. Bilirubin, when it is first secreted, is green.
  • Medical reasons: inflammation due to diseases like inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS)
  • Dietary reasons: green, leafy vegetables, like spinach and kale, or green food coloring, iron supplements
• Beige, white, or light gray: A light-colored stool can be due to bile not being secreted properly. Since bile turns brown as it travels through the GI tract, a light-colored stool can mean that there isn’t any bile at all.
  • Medical reasons: bile duct obstruction due to gallstones or other bile duct problems, liver damage, and liver diseases like Hepatitis C and liver cirrhosis
  • Dietary reasons: high doses of anti-diarrheal medication like Kaopectate or Pepto-Bismol
• Yellow, greasy, foul-smelling: A yellow, greasy, foul-smelling stool can be due to excess fat being present in the stool.
  • Medical reasons: malabsorption disorders like celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, or chronic pancreatitis, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI)
  • Dietary reasons: yellow food coloring, carrots and sweet potatoes in large amounts
• Black: Black stool can indicate bleeding from the upper GI tract, such as the stomach. This is a stool color that can indicate a serious issue that requires immediate medical attention. However, there are a couple of dietary reasons your stool may be black.
  • Medical reasons: bleeding stomach ulcers, esophagitis from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and esophageal varices
  • Dietary reasons: Iron supplements, Kaopectate or Pepto-Bismol, black licorice
• Bright red: Bright red stool is due to blood from the lower GI tract – the colon, rectum, or anus. There are some serious causes of blood in the stool, but also some relatively harmless ones like hemorrhoids (though they can be uncomfortable!).

Stool Consistencies

Stool can be many shapes and sizes, but healthy stool should only take a few minutes to pass and be a comfortable experience. The consistency of stool depends on how much water it contains. Several things change the water content of stool, including the amount of fiber and how long it takes food to digest and pass.

Doctors can use a tool called the Bristol Stool Chart as a way to discuss stool consistency with their patients. There are seven different types of stool, varying from very hard to liquid.

Indicates constipation

• Type 1: hard stool with separate pieces and is difficult to pass
• Type 2: log-shaped but lumpy and may be difficult to pass
• Medical reasons: certain medications like strong pain medications and antidepressants, and conditions like diabetes and IBS

Indicates health and normal

• Type 3: shaped like a sausage with cracks on the surface and is easy to pass
• Type 4: shaped like a sausage or a snake and is smooth, soft, and easy to pass

Indicates diarrhea

• Type 5: soft blobs with clear edges that are passed easily (this can also mean there is a lack of fiber in the diet)
• Type 6: fluffy and mushy, not fully formed but not entirely liquid
• Type 7: watery with no formed pieces
• Medical reasons: viruses, parasites, bacteria, medications like antibiotics, diseases like Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, and IBS

Hopefully, you usually have bowel movements that are comfortable to pass and a healthy color and consistency. If you frequently pass stools that are abnormal in color and/or consistency, especially bloody or black stools, don’t wait and make an appointment today!

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90,000 Brown diarrhea – the reasons for the appearance of loose, dark brown stools

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Date of last update: 08/26/2021

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Reasons for the appearance of
Necessary measures
IMODIUM ^® Express in the fight against diarrhea

By the color and consistency of feces, one can judge the state of human health and nutrition.Brown stool of different shades is the norm, but only in cases where it has a dense consistency. Diarrhea usually appears with various pathologies.

1. Stool turns dark brown when a person consumes a lot of meat and animal products.
2. It acquires a light brown color if the basis of the diet is vegetable and dairy products.
3. It is worthwhile to be wary with beige feces, which indicates serious violations in the functioning of the liver.

Causes of occurrence

Brown diarrhea can cause the following factors.

Action to be taken

Correction of diet and restoration of water balance is of paramount importance in the treatment of brown diarrhea.

To prevent dehydration, you must drink at least two liters of fluid throughout the day. After each bowel movement, it is recommended to drink half a glass of water. Electrolyte solutions will help to retain fluid in the body.

Antibiotics are usually not used for this form of diarrhea, but this issue is always discussed with a specialist.

IMODIUM

^® Express in the fight against diarrhea

IMODIUM ^® Express can help to cope with the problem.

Under the influence of medication:

• intestinal motility may be slowed down, ensuring proper digestion;
• The anal sphincter can be toned, thereby eliminating fecal incontinence and frequent bowel movements.

The information in this article is for guidance only and does not replace professional medical advice.Consult a qualified professional for diagnosis and treatment.

Find out in our video about the main causes of diarrhea!

^¹ According to instructions for use.

* Among the products based on Loperamide. Sales in money terms for February 2018 – January 2019, according to IQVIA data.

DARK BROWN KAL [what it depends on and what it talks about]

The color of stool can tell a lot about a person’s health, however, the shade of stool can differ: both whitish and yellowish, and [dark brown stool is not a pathology].

The most alarming is the feces of dark and black shades. In order not to worry about your well-being, you need to know what causes the color of feces to change.

Factors of color change of stool

The color of feces directly depends on the presence of stercobilin in the composition of feces. This pigment is an important part of the normal composition of the stool, staining the stool with the usual brown color and its shades.

Stercobilin appears in the body as a result of the breakdown of bilirubin, which is an important constituent of bile.

Bilirubin, getting from the hepatic ducts into the small intestine, is split into urobilin and stercobilin.

The first pigment enters the bloodstream and then to the kidneys, and affects the color of the urine. The second pigment does not enter the bloodstream, but remains in the intestines, therefore, it stains indigestible food debris that enter the intestinal tract.

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By itself, bilirubin is formed from red blood cells and hemoglobin, which are broken down in the liver.That is why the final color of feces can tell not only about the state of the gastrointestinal tract, but also about the composition of the blood.

Normally, the brown color of faeces can vary depending on the food ingested.

Ideally, the shade of the stool should be similar to the color of chocolate. This color speaks of the excellent health and balanced nutrition of a person.

However, yellowish or even greenish feces may be normal, depending on the food eaten.

Fatty foods color the stool in shades of yellow, while cabbage and spinach give the stool a green color.

For those who eat a lot of meat products, the appearance of dark brown feces is considered normal.

This is due to the fact that meat products contain a lot of their own hemoglobin, which affects the final color of feces.

However, darkening of feces in an adult may have more serious causes.

Dark brown feces may be associated with some diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Diseases with dark brown feces

Dark brown stools may have the following causes:

• indigestion;
• constipation;
• colitis;
• putrid dyspepsia.

In case of digestive disorders, undigested food debris gets into the stool, which changes the color of the feces, making it darker.

Constipation is characterized by a delay in the movement of feces through the intestines. In this regard, feces are oversaturated with pigment stercobilin and become dark brown.

The indicated reasons are temporary, the color of feces is not always dark brown.

Digestive disorders and constipation can be easily relieved by starting to eat well. Most often, this is enough to improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

In some cases, for treatment, it is necessary to take medications containing enzymes that allow food to be more easily absorbed by the body.

Colitis contributes to the disruption of the correct digestion process.Inflammatory bowel processes, which include colitis, slow down the movement of feces through the intestinal tract and make it difficult to empty.

Constipation in combination with ulcerative inflammation, the appearance of which is typical for the course of this disease, leads to the fact that the blood from the ulcers enters the feces.

Blood not only stains feces, but also contributes to the intensification of putrefactive processes and fermentation in the intestines. As a result of all this, the color of the stool becomes dark brown.

Putrid dyspepsia is considered the most serious disease affecting the color of feces. This pathological condition occurs due to a decrease in the acidity of gastric juice.
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The consequence of this is the deterioration of the antibacterial properties of intestinal juice, it cannot protect the upper gastrointestinal tract from the ingress of bacteria from the lower parts.

All this leads to putrefactive and inflammatory processes in the gastrointestinal tract.

Very often putrid dyspepsia is observed in people with gastritis, since this disease is accompanied by a change in the composition of gastric juice, namely a decrease in the amount of hydrochloric acid in its composition.

Low acidity does not allow protein food to be properly digested in the stomach, and undigested residues, getting into the intestines, contribute to fermentation and putrefaction.

Dark brown stool treatment

Before seeking medical help, it is worth analyzing your diet over the past few days.

If yesterday you were sitting at the festive table, which was full of meat dishes, then most likely there is no reason for concern.

A couple of days – and digestion is normalized, and the color of feces will become habitual, if you do not continue to abuse meat products.

A balanced diet will help avoid dark brown stools in the future.

In other cases, a thorough examination by a specialist and the study of feces is necessary – a coprogram.This analysis will help to establish the diseases that caused the discoloration of the feces.

Treatment of constipation and digestive disorders is best carried out according to the recommendations of the attending physician.

Self-treatment, especially with folk remedies, can aggravate a difficult situation, lead to the development of serious diseases.

At home, you can help the stomach and intestines work with the help of preventive measures.

Changing the diet (fractional meals, foods rich in complex carbohydrates, vegetables and fruits), an active lifestyle, walking in the fresh air will help to normalize the state of the gastrointestinal tract.

In addition, experts believe that the main causes of constipation are stress and difficult psychological conditions at work and in the family.

Improvement of the patient’s psychosomatic state has a positive effect on the activity of the gastrointestinal tract.

Treatment tactics for colitis may differ depending on the etiology of the disease. If the disease is caused by an infection, then drug therapy involves the appointment of a course of antibiotics that suppress the activity of microorganisms.

Treatment of colitis resulting from taking certain medications requires the abolition of these medications, the search for medicinal analogues.

Treatment of putrefactive dyspepsia includes taking drugs that normalize the amount of hydrochloric acid in the gastric juice.

In addition, enzymatic drugs are used to facilitate digestion.

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An important role in recovery is played by a special diet, the task of which is to reduce the amount of food saturated with proteins and give up carbohydrates.

Special precautions for dark feces

It is important to distinguish dark brown stool from black stool. The black color of feces is a much more serious signal from the body, which speaks of acute processes, in particular, indicates internal bleeding.

Dark faeces of normal consistency may result from ingestion of certain foods or medications.

Among the medicines that affect the shade of the stool, there are activated carbon, iron-containing preparations.Licorice and blueberries, when consumed in large quantities, turn stools black.

Dark stools that can be described as black, especially if they are viscous, directly indicate the presence of damage to the upper gastrointestinal tract, leading to bleeding.

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Such damage can occur with stomach ulcers, gastritis, colon and small intestine cancer, gastric polyps, and gastric varicose veins.

Liquid black feces is a reason for urgently seeking qualified medical help, as it is a very dangerous symptom indicating the course of serious diseases in the body.

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90,000 why dark brown mucus poop

Many reasons can affect the color of stool. This includes not only the features of the diet, but also the features of the digestive tract.In addition, the use of any medications can easily change the shade of feces.

Fact! The normal color of feces is brown, it is this color that is formed with the normal secretion of bile in the body. Brown feces are also evidence that the human digestive tract is working properly.

The shade of feces can vary from lighter to darker, depending on the amount of bilirubin and stercobilin that enter the digestive tract with bile.In addition, some diseases can change the color of the stool.

Why is the feces too light?

The appearance of light brown feces scares many if the color becomes too light. There can be quite a few reasons for this phenomenon. First, these are some of the nutritional features. The patient may have eaten too much fatty food the day before, especially foods such as butter or sour cream. In addition, if you eat a lot of rice or potatoes without the use of additional additives and other foods, you can also observe the feces of a light brown color.

Also, sometimes the color of feces becomes lighter, if, after a long intake of mainly meat food, you suddenly eat a lot of vegetable. That is why, when you find feces of a different color, you need to remember what was eaten the day before, perhaps there is simply no reason for concern.

In addition, the reasons for the change in the color of the stool to a lighter one may lie in the use of a number of medications:

• Antibacterial preparations;
• anti-inflammatory drugs;
• agents aimed at reducing fever and temperature, for example, ibuprofen, aspirin, paracetamol;
• preparations for the elimination of fungi;
• medicines used in tuberculosis therapy;
• drugs for gout;
• drugs for epilepsy.

Fecal masses can also acquire a light shade as a result of taking barium sulfate. Basically, this need arises when conducting a number of surveys. However, in this case, you should not worry, because after 2-3 days the substance will leave the body, and the feces will acquire the same color.

Diseases that can cause the appearance of light stool

Light-colored feces in an adult can indicate the presence of a number of diseases or the beginning of their development.In this case, we are talking about pathologies of the gallbladder and liver. In this case, light brown or even lighter feces is an important diagnostic feature. In rare cases, it can be caused by neoplasms in the digestive tract or inflammation.

The reasons for the allocation of too light stools may be the following pathologies:

• Biliary dyskinesia;
• the presence of stones in the gallbladder;
• cholecystitis;
• bend of the gallbladder;
• clogging of the ducts through which bile passes;
• Crohn’s disease;
• hepatitis;
• pancreatitis;
• parasite infestation;
• tumor neoplasms in the digestive tract.

When should you worry?

By itself, light brown stool is not a cause for concern. You should consult a doctor if there are no objective reasons for the color change, and in addition, the following symptoms appear:

Increase in body temperature, which persists for a long time;

• loose stools;
• nausea and vomiting;
• Painful sensations in the abdomen or under the ribs on the left side;
• yellowness on the skin and sclera of the eyes;

90,037 weight loss;

• darkening of urine;
• abdominal distension, increase in size;
• mucus in feces in an adult.

If at least two signs from the presented list complement the clarified stool, it makes sense to undergo a complete medical examination. This is the only way to determine the presence of the disease, and take measures to eliminate it.

What does darkened stool mean?

The appearance of dark brown feces can also be a common change against the background of a change in diet, or it can indicate the development of a serious pathology in the patient’s body. Coloring of stool black can occur under the influence of certain foods that contain coloring pigments.Changes to dark brown feces are affected by dark foods, for example, blueberries, red beets, chokeberries, as well as hematogen, which contains a lot of iron. For example, if you eat a lot of hematogen, then the iron in its composition after entering the stomach and interacting with oxygen will stain the feces in a darker color. In some cases, iron may cause stools to appear completely black.

However, if nothing of the above has been eaten the day before, the cause of the darkened stool may be internal bleeding concentrated in the upper part of the digestive tract.

Be careful! When blood enters the intestines, it becomes dark and stains the feces completely, as a result of which they acquire a brown color. Also, brown mucus may appear in the stool, due to which the stool will acquire a viscous structure.

What does red-tinged feces say?

The appearance of red-brown feces is an alarming sign and, as a rule, indicates the presence of pathologies in the body. However, first it is still worth finding out why the feces have acquired such a shade.In this case, you also need to take into account the foods that were eaten the day before. For example, foods such as beets, tomatoes, and some fruit juices can color the stool red. Foods containing dyes and eaten in large quantities can also have an effect. Often, a child’s feces have a red tint after eating vegetables, since the intestines are only adapting to digest them.

If there was nothing of the kind in the diet, one should think about the presence of diseases in the intestines.As a rule, the inclusion of blood in the stool indicates hemorrhoids, anal fissure or bleeding in the rectum.

Many patients wonder why the poop is brown, and they are very surprised if they suddenly change their color. In general, the color of the stool primarily depends on the secretion of bile, therefore, special attention should be paid to this particular factor. Why the turd is brown, but at the same time too light or dark – this is already a matter of changes in the body. It is important to understand here that the color of the feces does not just change, and if there are other symptoms of concern, you should contact a specialist and undergo a full examination that will help determine the cause and prescribe treatment.

Brown diarrhea

Each of us, at least once in our life, was worried about diarrhea, which could happen at the most inopportune moments. Diarrhea is a pathology that is accompanied by a critical disorder of the digestive system. The body copes with weaker types of disorders on its own almost imperceptibly for a person, however, with diarrhea, the body attempts to get rid of the hostile environment within itself by completely cleansing the stomach and intestines.In this case, the stool has a liquid consistency and happens more than 3 times a day. The presence of fluid is due to problems with the absorption of fluid by the walls of the digestive system. That is why stool masses are diluted and quickly excreted.

Very often, one disorder is not complete, since nausea, vomiting, fever, weakness and abdominal pain may also be present. It should be remembered that diarrhea is a very dangerous disease, because due to the violation of the absorption of fluid by the walls of the digestive system, water, vitamins, minerals and other vital components of food cease to enter the body.Diarrhea can start completely at any time and last from several days to several months. The form of diarrhea becomes acute if the diarrhea continues for more than two weeks, which implies a more detailed study and a change in treatment methods.

Contents of the article:

Causes of diarrhea, what can cause diarrhea?

The following factors can contribute to the appearance of loose stools:

1 Infection with viruses or bacteria may cause diarrhea;

2 Eating spoiled food that contains pathogenic bacterial flora;

3 The presence of a large number of stressful situations in life;

4 Gross overeating may cause diarrhea;

5 A certain form of allergy;

6 Diseases of the chronic type sometimes cause symptoms such as diarrhea;

7 Parasites in the body, in particular worms;

8 Individual intolerance to certain foods, or rather, their enzymes;

9 Insufficiently washed food of plant origin;

10 Poor quality drinking water may cause frequent loose stools;

11 Improper nutrition, when the body is deficient in certain elements;

12 Long-term use of antibiotics or other drugs that suppress microflora;

13 Various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, such as gastritis, colitis and others;

14 Poisoning with a large amount of toxins, for example, poisonous mushrooms or chemicals;

15 Eating a lot of fiber, for example with vegetables and fruits, which in itself enhances the contractile function of the digestive system.

The main types of diarrhea, what kind of diarrhea can it be?

Each of the above causes of diarrhea causes one of the following types of diarrhea:

1 Exudative, arising in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;

2 Medication, typical for the use of drugs that disrupt the normal intestinal microflora;

3 Alimentary, which occurs when there is a factor of allergy or malnutrition;

4 Infectious, appearing together with infection of the body with certain viruses;

6 Toxic, caused by the consumption of poisons and chemicals;

7 Dyspeptic, when enzyme deficiency occurs.

It should be noted that the causes of diarrhea determine specific characteristics that are diverse for each species, by which one or another type of diarrhea can be identified. Thus, the consistency, smell, color, presence of impurities and others can be different.

Brown diarrhea, why brown diarrhea appeared, causes

Brown color in shades from standard to dark brown is considered a full-fledged norm for humans, but this applies to feces of an exceptionally dense consistency of feces.As mentioned earlier, the shade or color of feces depends on the food consumed, therefore the presence of dense brown feces indicates the normal course of all digestive processes. The appearance of liquid brown feces or brown shades may indicate infection with bacteria or parasites in the form of worms. More precisely, diarrhea does not come from the presence of these bacteria and parasites, but from their waste products.

It should be noted that the presence of dark brown feces indicates the predominant consumption of meat and its derivatives.The stool becomes light brown when eating a large amount of food of plant or dairy categories. It is considered the most dangerous if an almost beige color of feces has become noticeable, which indicates critical violations in the liver.

Gray color of diarrhea, causes of gray color diarrhea

If an adult begins to suffer from diarrhea, in which the stool becomes gray, then the alarm must be sounded immediately, as this may indicate dangerous liver diseases, in particular hepatitis and even cirrhosis.Also, gray color of feces with diarrhea can signal pathologies of the biliary tract, their blockage, which is fraught with cessation of the flow of bile into the intestines. The following deviations may act as prerequisites for the development of this kind of events:

1 Problems with the gallbladder, in particular cholecystitis;

2 Presence of stones or cancer in the gallbladder, biliary tract or liver;

3 Various inflammations like pancreatitis;

4 Crohn’s disease.

In addition to the above, gray feces with diarrhea can be caused by the consumption of large amounts of very fatty foods. Also, oral antimicrobial and antifungal drugs can affect the gray staining of feces.

Red diarrhea, why red diarrhea may appear

The predominance of red in liquid and even dense feces with diarrhea is the most dangerous phenomenon, since in this case it may indicate the presence of latent internal bleeding requiring immediate medical attention.Most often this is a consequence of the destructive effect of the development of malignant tumors in the digestive organs. Also, a variety of acute inflammatory processes that violate the integrity of the mucous membranes can lead to this. It should be noted that the intensity of the shade can be used to determine the approximate source of bleeding or inflammation. Thus, the dark red, almost black color of diarrhea indicates that there is damage to the right half of the large intestine, and if the stool is bright red, it is possible to judge the damage to the lower intestine.A weak red color can usually appear with hemorrhoids or anal fissures.

However, do not sound the alarm prematurely, because the first step is to remember what has been eaten in the last 24 hours. If the diet included tomatoes, beets or calcium-containing preparations, then you can calm down until the next trip to the toilet.

Green diarrhea, why there are frequent loose green stools?

Green color of feces with diarrhea is characteristic in the presence of intestinal infections, which lead to an imbalance of the beneficial microflora of the digestive system relative to the harmful.It should be noted that the pathogenic microflora is constantly present in the body, but it is always suppressed by beneficial bacteria.

Green stools, green diarrhea, usually have a sour smell of rot and splashes of mucus. A dangerous component of the causes of green diarrhea includes non-compliance with personal hygiene, previous treatment with antibiotic drugs, the consumption of unwashed vegetables and fruits, liver problems, blood composition, and the use of partially spoiled food.In the normal state of the body, the green color of feces can be acquired if a significant amount of greens was eaten the day before, that is, spinach, lettuce, sorrel and others.

Black diarrhea, causes of black diarrhea

Black color or shade of stool in liquid stool is a sign of serious damage to the walls of the gastrointestinal tract with prolonged bleeding. The color of the diarrhea turns black, because before it leaves the body with the help of diarrhea, the blood has time to bake and become almost black.Also, the black color of feces with diarrhea predominates with significant damage to the upper areas of the intestine, while the consistency of the feces turns into a similar tar with an incredibly foul odor. Very often, such diarrhea is accompanied by black vomiting, which poses a huge threat to human life, since this means that at the moment there is a very significant blood loss, leading even to a coma. However, there is also a safe side to black diarrhea, which is associated with the usual use of activated charcoal, alcohol, bismuth-based drugs and others.

White or pale color with diarrhea, causes of

Usually, white color with diarrhea appears due to the presence of bile insufficiency, which can lead to the above-mentioned pathologies of the gallbladder, bile outflow and liver. Also, the color of diarrhea in pale shades is affected by the presence of malignant tumors of any of the organs involved in digestion. In this case, it is necessary to carefully monitor the regularity of the manifestations of diarrhea, since with cancer, diarrhea becomes constant and almost chronic.In other cases, symptoms of diarrhea with white or pale stool are short-term, in most cases, one-time. Unhealthy diet, eating a lot of rice, dairy products, or alcohol abuse can contribute to this.

Orange diarrhea, causes of orange diarrhea

In many ways, the shade of feces with diarrhea depends on what a person ate the day before. The orange color of diarrhea begins to predominate in the feces after eating foods containing a large amount of vitamin A.This vitamin is most commonly found in plant foods that are orange, red or yellow. This can be pumpkin, carrots, cauliflower, apricot, melon, nectarine, plum, and many others. It should be noted that an overdose of vitamin A in the body is fraught with the appearance of nausea, vomiting, colic in the intestines, and itching. The next reason for the appearance of orange stool with diarrhea may be the intake of drugs that stop some of the gastrointestinal processes.

In addition to all of the above, the following pathologies of the body can serve as the reasons for the orange liquid stool:

1 The presence of any inflammatory processes in the digestive system;

3 Hormonal disorders;

4 Diseases related to the pathways of bile excretion;

5 Pulmonary diseases;

6 Cystitis in various forms;

8 Often may occur in women with the development of menopause.

How to treat diarrhea, prevention and treatment of diarrhea, what to do to quickly get rid of loose stools?

Since diarrhea is a violation of the absorption of water and other trace elements through the walls of the digestive system, you should first start drinking plenty of fluids. Otherwise, it threatens to dehydrate the body. In no case should you consume carbonated drinks or raw water for this purpose. Herbal infusions and herbal teas are most suitable for replenishing the water balance in the body, which, in addition to the main purpose, will help in the fight against the very cause of diarrhea.

In case of diarrhea, you also need to adhere to a delicate diet that does not contain anything heavy and difficult for the digestive system. It is advisable that the food was chopped as much as possible before direct consumption. In the first few hours after the first loose stool, it is better to refuse food altogether and only drink abundantly every half hour to prevent repeated urges and dehydration. Taking stool-strengthening drugs is not recommended until the root cause of its occurrence has been established, since there is a possibility of not only useless treatment, but also causing even more harm to the body.You should consult a doctor immediately if loose stools do not bind during the day, the temperature rises, or there are impurities of blood or mucus in the feces.

By the color and consistency of feces, one can judge the state of human health and nutrition. Brown stool of different shades is the norm, but only in cases where it has a dense consistency. Diarrhea usually appears with various pathologies. Stool turns dark brown when a person consumes a lot of meat and animal products.It acquires a light brown color if the basis of the diet is vegetable and dairy products. It is worthwhile to be wary of beige feces, which indicates serious violations in the functioning of the liver.

Reasons for the appearance of

Brown diarrhea can cause the following factors.

Intestinal infections. Violation of the stool is provoked by viruses or pathogenic bacteria that have entered the body.

Poisoning. Consumption of unwashed fruits and vegetables, spoiled food, and low-quality alcoholic beverages can cause diarrhea.

Food allergy. Diarrhea may also be the result of individual intolerance to certain foods.

Chronic and acute liver pathologies. Liquid light brown feces can be a symptom of cholestasis (insufficient bile secretion), pancreatitis, hepatitis, cirrhosis.

Eating certain foods. Indigestion and brown diarrhea are often caused by the following foods: blood sausage, prunes, blueberries, black currants, beets, large amounts of coffee.

The use of certain drugs. Diarrhea can be triggered by drugs that contain iron and bismuth. With their long-term use, the beneficial intestinal microflora is suppressed.

Action required

Do not self-medicate. If you experience diarrhea, see your doctor. He will carry out a diagnosis and, based on its results, select the optimal treatment.

Correction of diet and restoration of water balance is of paramount importance in the treatment of brown diarrhea.Before stool normalization, you will have to give up fresh vegetables and fruits, juices, dairy products, coarse and fatty foods, smoked and fried foods, canned food and pickles, black bread and fresh white bread, baked goods. It is allowed to use steamed vegetables, porridge boiled in water, dietary meat, white crackers, strong tea, St. John’s wort decoction.

To prevent dehydration, you must drink at least two liters of fluid throughout the day. After each bowel movement, it is recommended to drink half a glass of water.Electrolyte solutions will help to retain fluid in the body. Antibiotics are usually not used for this form of diarrhea, but this issue is always discussed with a specialist.

IMODIUM ® Express in the fight against diarrhea

IMODIUM ® Express – a drug intended for the treatment of various types of diarrhea in adults and children over 6 years of age¹ can help to cope with the problem.

Medication:

• Intestinal motility can be slowed down, ensuring proper digestion;
• can tone the anal sphincter, thereby eliminating fecal incontinence and frequent bowel movements.

Find out in our video about the main causes of diarrhea!

¹ In accordance with the instructions for use.

Professional skills: Colon hydrotherapy, treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract

There are many reasons for the appearance of diarrhea. Diarrhea is not always a symptom of the disease: an upset stool can cause, for example, excessive anxiety or the abuse of fatty foods.But if streaks of blood are found in the stool or diarrhea turns brown or red, you need to see a doctor immediately.

Reasons for the appearance of

In a healthy person, the color of feces ranges from brown to dark yellow. The consistency is quite dense, but not hard, the feces are formed. The physiological norm varies over a fairly wide range, so if the feces have acquired a viscous consistency, this is not a cause for concern.

The shape, smell and density of feces is influenced by the diet and the amount of water in the small intestine.The first factor, as a rule, provides temporary changes that do not threaten health. Impaired absorption of water in the intestine is much more likely to indicate serious illness.

Brown chair

The causes of diarrhea are divided into dangerous and relatively safe. Brown diarrhea is caused by the following factors:

• Most often, the use of coloring and laxative products leads to discoloration: beets, blood sausage, black currant, tomato juice.Such diarrhea disappears on its own within two days.
• Too much water and salt in the intestines stimulates peristalsis. Accordingly, the feces do not have time to form and turns into diarrhea of ​​a dark brown or yellow color in both the child and the adult.
• The transition to a strict diet sometimes provokes the appearance of brown feces. Thus, the body reacts to the restructuring of nutrition. Once the person adapts to the restriction, the diarrhea goes away.
• Certain medications stain faeces brown or black and cause upset stools.So, taking activated charcoal gives feces an unnaturally dark brown color. Medicines containing bismuth or iron and used in the treatment of the gastrointestinal tract also cause brown diarrhea.
• Inflammation, such as colitis, often causes dark brown or black diarrhea. With such a disease, the work of the digestive tract is disrupted, and the body tries to remove undigested food as quickly as possible.
• If the stool turns light brown and becomes semi-liquid, the pancreas should be checked.This color is typical for feces with insufficient bile secretion. The same changes are observed in liver pathology.

Important! With the uncontrolled use of products containing acetylsalicylic acid, more serious consequences are possible. The drug itself does not cause frustration, but it can provoke internal bleeding. The blood in the feces turns them dark brown.

A change in the color of a child’s stool to brown and the appearance of diarrhea is often associated with a transition to a new diet.In such cases, the disorder goes away on its own and is not accompanied by additional symptoms. If, with a stool disorder, the temperature rises, vomiting is observed, then diarrhea is most likely associated with an intestinal infection.

Red chair

Red diarrhea or bowel movements, including streaks of blood – a sign of a dangerous disease, as it appears with internal bleeding. The intensity of the color indicates the nature of the disease:

• Dark red diarrhea is a symptom of damage to the upper digestive tract: stomach, esophagus, small intestine.It is observed with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.
• Less intense color is observed in diarrhea with hemorrhoids and anal fissures.
• Bright red blood in stool occurs when there is bleeding in the small or large intestine. The cause is most often intestinal infections.
• In an adult, deep red or purple diarrhea occurs when the right side of the large intestine is damaged.

Dark or red colored diarrhea occurs in a child for the same reasons as in an adult.But since the baby’s immune system is less developed, the disease develops much faster. With such symptoms, you need to call an ambulance.

Diagnosis of the disease

To determine the exact cause of brown diarrhea, some tests are necessary: ​​

• General and biochemical blood test. It allows you to clarify whether the disease is inflammatory in nature.
• Sowing feces for pathogenic flora. The doctor analyzes feces for bacterial culture in order to determine the causative agent of diarrhea, if an intestinal infection is suspected.Setting the sensitivity to antibiotics of the isolated culture allows you to establish what kind of medicine is required to destroy the infectious agent.
• Gastroscopy – examination of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum using a gastroscope. Thus, all possible pathologies of these organs are revealed. In this case, you can also take a biopsy to clarify the diagnosis. Brown or red diarrhea appears when tumors form, and a biopsy can determine their nature.
• Colonoscopy – examination of the lower part of the digestive tract.It is performed using an endoscope that is inserted into the colon. In doing so, any damage to the intestine can be identified and evaluated.

Treatment

Black dots in the feces of an adult or a child: causes and photos

When an adult or a child has black dots in the feces, a reasonable question arises – was it not the pathology of the internal organs that caused such a strange phenomenon? Find out what it is, you need to immediately.

Reasons for the appearance of

Normal human stool will vary depending on age and diet.Its color ranges from light yellow to dark brown and all this is normal if there are no impurities in the feces. Feces with white or dark spots are worrisome, but panic is not a good idea.

There are two main groups of causes that cause dark spots in the stool of any person:

1. Natural causes , which are not a pathology of the body and do not require specific medication treatment. Black grains in the feces will not constantly bother a person, but only appear from time to time, depending on the factors provoking them.The blotches in feces are usually small and may look like sand, peas, small sticks, or streaks. The stool remains of normal consistency (loose stools are typical for a child, and dense, formalized stool is typical for adults). Poop should be brown or yellowish, and black kernels will rarely stand out against this background. This category includes the use of certain foods and drugs.
2. Pathological causes resulting from disruption of the gastrointestinal tract , expressed by black grains of various sizes in the feces.Dark balls can be of very different sizes, even almost completely dotting the feces. The poop itself can be light, green, red, or black. All this indicates a malfunction in the body, and treatment should be started immediately. The consistency of feces in pathology can be unpredictable – diarrhea will be accompanied by very thin or watery feces, and constipation may look like a hard fecal lump with small black stones interspersed. The pathological reasons for the appearance of blackheads in the feces include bleeding, infectious diseases, and enzymatic pathologies.

Let’s consider the main reasons for the appearance of feces with black blotches in more detail.

Photo of a chair with black blotches:

Food

Black grains in the feces are very noticeable in babies, since the stool itself is yellow and similar changes are very frightening for parents. If small specks of black or dark brown color began to appear in the baby’s poop, you should not immediately sound the alarm.

It is necessary to remember whether the baby has consumed such products:

• Banana – is not completely digested in the child’s intestines and comes out with feces like black strings.
• Persimmon – comes out with feces with small black grains of sand, as it is poorly digested by the child’s body.
• Small grains from kiwi also may not be digested and leave the body in its original form.

Feces with black dots in an adult and a child can also cause the use of raspberries, currants, grapes. Black grains like poppy will be found in the stool of a person after eating and immediately pass away.

The use of pears and apples leads to the appearance of the same effect as when bananas are included in the diet – feces with black veins appear.

If a person loves seeds, but cleans them poorly and eats them with husks, then black speckled feces will constantly be noted at every trip to the toilet “for big”.

Eating blood products (sausage, heart, liver, stomach) can cause the stool to change to a very dark color, or lead to the fact that the stool will come out with red streaks or black pieces of digested meat will be found.

It is not worth worrying about blackheads in feces if a person’s diet is “teeming” with the aforementioned foods. If a problem bothers a person and would like to make sure that the reason is exclusively food, then it is worth changing the menu for a few days. The disappearance of blackheads in the feces will be proof of the correct theory.

Taking medication

Black streaks, small crumbs or stones in dark colored stool may be due to certain medications. In the instructions for the use of medicines, such a side effect as black staining of feces is always indicated.People taking these drugs should not be surprised that even if the stool is completely black, after the end of the course of treatment, everything will return to normal.

Drugs that change the color of feces include:

• Activated carbon.
• Bismuth containing preparations.
• Paracetamol.
• Ibuprofen.
• Certain antibacterial drugs.

If, after discontinuation of drugs, blackheads in the stool continue to bother a person, then you should contact a specialist to find out why the problem has not disappeared.

Bleeding from the GI tract

Minor bleeding in the stomach or small intestine may appear as black spots in the stool.

In addition to such a minor symptom, a person will have other signs of ailment, which will help to make a diagnosis in total:

• Weakness.
• Rapid fatigue.
• Pallor.
• Loss of appetite.
• Nausea after eating.
• Frequent dizziness.

If the bleeding increases, it can seriously affect human health, so this pathology cannot be ignored, you should immediately go to the hospital for help before it’s too late.

Infectious diseases

Bacteria and viruses that infect the intestines and even the entire gastrointestinal tract can provoke not only black sand in the feces, but also cause other unpleasant symptoms:

• Stool color change – green, yellow , White black.
• Changes in stool consistency – watery, frothy, liquid, mushy.
• Uncharacteristic fetid odor developed.
• Emerging abdominal pain.
• Bloating.
• Nausea and vomiting (with black feces, vomit resembles coffee grounds).

A complete set of symptoms will allow the specialist to quickly establish the cause of the disease and prescribe the necessary course of medications, otherwise complications of the infection can lead to serious consequences and even death.

Problems with enzyme production

The liver, gallbladder and pancreas are responsible for the production of enzymes for proper digestion.

Hepatitis, cirrhosis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis – these diseases can lead to improper supply of enzymes (excess or shortage) and then black dots will begin to appear in a person’s feces.

Also, gray plaque may appear on the feces, which will indicate a severe disease of the pancreas. The consistency and color of feces may change in total.Therefore, it is worth paying attention to absolutely all the symptoms that bother a person, in addition to black dots, so that you can make a presumptive diagnosis and confirm it laboratory or instrumentally.

How to make a diagnosis?

It is always better to entrust the diagnosis to a specialist, especially if the person is sure that the problem lies not in nutrition or medication.

The algorithm of the doctor’s actions will be as follows:

• Anamnesis collection and clarification of all disturbing symptoms.
• Conducting laboratory diagnostics (delivery of feces for coprogram and occult blood, if it is not visible in feces).
• Carrying out instrumental diagnostics (colonoscopy or X-ray) – carried out in case of suspicion of intestinal bleeding in order to establish and remove the source of blood loss.
• Selection of means of treatment from the group of medicines, as well as the appointment of surgical procedures if necessary (they help as a means of diagnosis and treatment at the same time).

A quick diagnosis will help cure a person, even if the symptom was only blackheads in the stool.

It is better to seek help at the initial stage of the development of the disease, and not wait for rapid progress, bringing the person’s condition to a critical one.

Principles of treatment

Treatment will be based on the cause of blackheads in human feces. The age of the patient will also be an important point – for young children, many treatments are often not applicable and other ways of solving the problem will have to be looked for.

The basic principles of treatment will be:

1. Establishing a diagnosis with the exact cause of the disease.
2. Selection of drugs for symptomatic treatment (analgesics, laxatives, suppressants).